New Venice hobo in black--how should I treat?

[tarheelgir1]

I was able to hit the most awesome sale at Bloomies a few weeks ago, and I am now the delighted owner of a Venice hobo in black!!! It's a gorgeous bag and just begging to be taken out on the town. :)

My question is how (or whether) I should pre-treat it before wearing.

There's a reason I'm worried about this: I didn't pre-treat my Stevie convertible satchel (in glazed taupe--kind of a metallic bronze), and I've had problems with the leather. After only 3 months of use, the handles felt like the leather was peeling off, and the finish had totally worn off at the corners and in places on the back. I actually returned it to the store, and they returned it to Botkier, but Botkier claimed that it constituted normal wear and tear and refused to do anything about it. They shipped the bag back. (And FYI, they shipped it back unstuffed, crushed at the bottom of a box. Nice.)

So I feel as if I should treat the Stevie too, to prevent further damage, but how and with what?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

[denteve]

Try conditioning with Apple Care conditioner & then waterproofing it. I've done this to my Botkiers (and other handbags) & they are all holding up fine

Also congrats on the venice hobo; love it!

[starkfan]

I think Botkier actually advises against treating metallic leathers, as the finish on the metallic leathers may change when you use any conditioners or sprays on it. I think that's generally the advice you'll get with most metallic leathers too. I'm not sure if you can still treat your Stevie at this point, but I'd definitely test any product on a small unseen spot first. Sorry to hear about the wear.

As for the Venice Hobo, spraying it with something like Apple Garde Rain & Stain Repellent should be safe. When I treat my new bags (not something I do all the time, actually), I usually just spray them without conditioning them first, unless they look like they need conditioning. It's always best to test on a small spot first, of course, just in case. HTH!

[tarheelgir1]

Where can you get Apple Care/Apple Guard? And how do you waterproof a bag? Also, conditioning? Do you mean like putting lexol or something on it? How do I know if I should do that first?

(Sorry to be such an idiot--I'm new to the world of nice bags, but becoming rapidly addicted!!!)

Thanks from a newbie!

[starkfan]

Leatherstuff.com sells the Apple line of products, which includes Apple Leather Care (a conditioner) and Apple Garde Rain & Stain Repellent (a protective spray). Waterproofing a bag usually entails spraying it with a protective spray like Apple Garde, although there are some products that come in the form of a cream instead (e.g. Lovin My Bags aka LMB's products).

Yup, conditioning should work pretty similarly to how Lexol is used, but I'm not sure if Lexol is usually recommended for bags. Apple Care isn't handbag-specific, unlike LMB's products, but it's usually fine for most bags and a lot of tPFers have used it without problem. If the leather on your bag feels dry rather than supple, that's usually when you need to condition it. HTH!

[musicalhouses]

I think that peeling problem is a problem general to metallic leathers. The sad thing is you can't really do anything about it - most brands advise you against treating metallic leathers. I know how you feel though, I have a metallic Coach, and I'm deathly afraid it'll peel and flake too! For my non-metallic bags I spray them with Wilson's TLC, and they've held up well so far :)